Two Dead, Three Wounded in N.C.

Sep. 24, 1998

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (AP) _ A factory worker was ordered held without bond today on two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder following a shooting rampage at a furniture parts plant.

Investigators said Shane Anderson, armed with an assault rifle and a shotgun, walked onto the grounds of Drexel Heritage shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday and began shooting.

District Attorney Ron Moore said he plans to seek the death penalty.

Anderson appeared in court today in Asheville and was appointed a lawyer, then ordered held without bond.

Anderson, 20, was scheduled to work the 4 p.m. shift, said authorities, who are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

Witnesses said shots were fired outside the plant, through a cafeteria window from outside and inside the cafeteria itself.

Lee Travis Harris, in his mid-20s, was killed as he was drinking coffee at a picnic table outside the plant. Elmer ``Mark'' Jaynes, in his 30s, died inside the company cafeteria.

Frightened workers ran from the plant as the bullets flew.

``People were scared for their lives,'' said employee Phillip Wishon, 43. ``I thought there was someone playing a prank at first.''

Three workers were wounded. Two were in stable condition, and one was treated and released.

Acquaintances described Anderson as quiet, but likable. While at work, he kept to himself, arriving for work on time consistently for the past two years.

Employees knew of no motive that would have prompted the shooting. But co-workers did recall that Anderson left the company briefly after some sort of conflict with another employee. He later rejoined the company.

For some local residents, the shooting kindled memories of a similar rampage at an Asheville plant in May 1995. James Floyd Davis walked into Union Butterfield, a machine tool distribution center, with a rifle and handgun and killed three people.

Davis, who had been fired two days earlier for fighting with an employee, was convicted in 1996 of three counts of first-degree murder. He's now on death row.